Tower hoist



y 7, 1963 R. E- MEYER 3,088,545

TOWER HOIST 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 20? E MEYER y 7, 1963 R. E. MEYER 3,088,545

TOWER I-IOIST Filed July 24, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 20? E MEYER y 7, 1963 R. E. MEYER 3,088,545

TOWER X-IOIST Filed y 24. 1 61 s Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. 201 E MEYER WWW a pqzmm ATTOKMEYS United States Patent 3,088,545 TOWER HQHST Roy E. Meyer, Red Wing, Minn. Filed July 24, 1961, Ser. No. 126,235 8 Claims. (Cl. 187-6) This invention relates to apparatus for carrying a Workman up and down a permanent type of tower such as floodlight supports and the like.

Although there have been mechanisms known in the past for carrying personnel up and down high structures, all of the known apparatus and mechanisms have distinct disadvantages, particularly when considered for use with extremely high columns or columnar type supports. It will be understood that in an apparatus for carrying personnel up a tower, safety of the personnel is always foremost of the considerations involved in adapting a mechanism for this usage. Furthermore, it will be understood that personnel carrying mechanisms are almost essential to proper safety in order to facilitate working by such personnel at the top of the tower once they arrive. For instance, if a workman were required to manually climb a columnar tower of a height in the range of 50 to 150 feet or more, it is quite likely that the workman would be rather fatigued when he ultimately arrived at the top of the tower. Obviously, the Workman would necessarily spend substantially more time in performing his duties at the top of the tower because of his fatigued condition. It may also be concluded that if the workman is quite fatigued upon arrivel at the top of the tower an unsafe situation prevails.

One of the primary disadvantages of personnel carrying mechanisms known in the past is that such mechanisms have not been readily adaptable for immediate installation on to a tower and subsequent removal therefrom for use on other towers. Another distinct disadvantage of previously known apparatus for use in connection with carrying personnel up a tower is that such apparatus has generally employed long cables continuously exposed to the weather and to the effects of constant motion produced by wind, thereby weakening the cable at its ends and more particularly at the points of constant bending due to the motion induced by wind. Of course, such cables present a rather unsightly appearance.

A still further disadvantage of known apparatus for cerrying personnel up a tower is the method of handling the lifting cables. In certain instances, moving cables are provided, which cables must necessarily be trained over sheaves or pulleys at the top of the tower and then extended downwardly along the tower to a power source for winching the cable and causing the lifting function to be performed. Winches which wind cable thereon for liting a personnel-carrying car must necessarily be of substantial size in order to accommodate the size and length of cables necessarily employed for supporting and lifting personnel-carrying cars on a high tower. It would be extremely inconvenient to employ such winches actually in the personnel-carrying car, because a substantial excess weight must be carried, and furthtermore the bulk of such winches necessarily requires that substantial room be provided to accommodate such a winch in a car.

With these comments in mind it is to the elimination of these and other disadvantages to which the present invention is directed, along with the inclusion therein of other novel and desirable features.

An object of my invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus of simple and inexpensive construction and operation for carrying workmen up and down a substantially vertical permanent type of tower.

Another object of my invention is the provision of novel apparatus for hoisting and lowering personnel on a tower and which apparatus is substantially completely remov- 3,088,545 Patented May 7, 1963 able from the tower to permit successive usage thereof on a number of towers.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved and novel apparatus attachable to a tower to permit raising and lowering of personnel on the tower and which apparatus, although partially permanently installed on the tower, will not interfere with the normal usage of the tower.

A further object of my invention is to provide in an improved apparatus for carrying personnel up and down a tower of a service car crawling along a stationary support cable without causing the cable to accumulate in the car.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a new and novel apparatus for carrying workmen up and down a tower and including a service car which is guided on the tower by a track, the operation of which is virtually unaffected by swaying of the tower in wind.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational general assembly view with a portion broken away to permit enlargement of scale and clarity of detail;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail section taken at 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the car disassembled from the tower.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail section view taken at 44 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail section view taken at 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a enlarged detail top plan view of the cableengaging power unit;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, partly broken away of the cable-engaging power unit;

FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged detail plan view of a portion of one of the cable windings drums;

FIG. 9 is a detail perspective view of the cable coupling in exploded condition;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail perspective view of an anchor cable stop;

FIG. 11 is an elevational general assembly view partially broken away to permit enlargement of scale and clarity of detail of a modified form of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a section view taken at 12-12 in FIG. 11.

The tower is indicated in general by numeral 15 and is of the general type for carrying a framework F at a position elevated above the ground by a distance of sixty to one hundred and twenty feet or more and upon which may be carried banks of floodlights for lighting athletic fields and other equipment which must be disposed at an extremely high elevated position. The tower '15 includes an elongate and substantially rigid tubular supporting structure 16 which is fabricated of steel plates rolled into proper configuration and then welded to produce a true tubular supporting structure. The supporting structure 16 will ordinarily be tapered convergingly from bottom to top so that in extremely high installations, the bottom may be up to siX feet or more in diameter and the top of the tubular supporting structure 16 may be as small as eight inches in diameter. Although the rigid tubular supporting structure 16 is constructed of rigid steel having thicknesses varying from as much as one inch in thickness or more and down to approximately three-eighth inch in thickness at the top, winds do produce at least limited swaying of such a high tower structure. In towers such as this, the use of guy wires is infrequent unless extremely high installations are to be made.

The tower also includes a track 17 upon which a personnel-carrying car 18 is guided. The track 17 comprises a plurality of telescopically interconnected tubular track sections 17a, having a substantially rectangular cross section as depicted in FIG. 2. Each of the track sections 17 has a pair of apertured mounting ears 19 welded thereon adjacent the lower end of the track section and in spaced relation with each other to receive therebetween one of the plurality of ears 20 welded on the tubular supporting structure 16. The ears 19 and 20 have aligned apertures to receive a mounting pivot bolt 21 thercthrough, thereby mounting and securing each of the track sections 17a to the tubular structure 16 at a single location to permit limited swinging or swinging oscillation of the track section with respect to the tower as the tower sways and as the track 17 telescopically extends and retracts.

In addition to mounting and guiding the personnelcarrying car 18, the tubular track 17 also serves to confine an anchoring cable 22 which is a part of the permanent installation on the tower 15. The anchoring cable 22 is preferably constructed of stainless steel or some other similar non-corrosive material which will withstand the effects of moisture and other weather conditions without weakening or breaking, either along its central portion or at its ends. The anchoring cable 22 extends upwardly through the upper end of the track 17 and through a track-mounting bracket 23 which is aflixed as by welding to the supporting structure 16 and which carries a cover plate 24 which substantially encloses the upper end of the track, but has :a suitably provided aperture 24a slidably receiving the anchoring cable therethrough. The cable extends upwardly from the cover plate 24 and is trained over a sheave 25 which is journalled in bearings on a rigid mounting bracket 26 affixed as by welding to the top of the rigid tubular structure 16. The upper end of the anchoring cable 22 has an enlarged Weight 27 aflixed thereto which also serves as a stop to prevent cable 22 from being pulled off the sheave 25. The weight 27 is sufficiently large as to offset all of the weight of anchoring cable 22 so that when the lower end of the anchoring cable 22 is released, the anchoring cable will move upwardly through the track 17 and over the sheave 25 and the weight 27 will move downwardly at the exterior of the tower 15. The lower end of the anchoring cable 22 has a stop element 28 thereon of such size as to be prevented from moving upwardly by a slidably removable keeper element 29 having a cable-receiving slot 30' therein, the keeper element 29 being slidably mounted in a rigid housing 31 which is affixed to the rigid tubular supporting structure 16 at its lower end and has the necessary support brackets 32 therein permitting inward and outward sliding move: ment of the keeper element 29 when the housing 33 is open. The lower end of anchoring cable 22 also has an eyelet 34 affixed thereto for attaching a tag line or rope 35 through the anchoring cable. The housing 31 has a pulley 36 journalled therein for guiding the tag line 35 and directing the tag line up the tubular track 17 when the anchoring cable 22 is released to allow the weight 27 to be lowered.

The weight 27 also cooperates with a coupling element 37 for attaching a removable hoist cable 38 to the anchoring cable 22. The hoist cable 38 serves to support the personnel-carrying car 18 as it moves up and down the tower 15 and is normally carried with the car 18 and left in attached condition thereto by means hereinafter more fully set forth. The coupling element 37 may take any of a number of forms, but in the form shown, the coupling element 37 comprises a substantially cylindrical sidewall 39 with an enlarged Weight-receiving opening 40 therein and an anchoring cable-receiving slot 41 at its upper end communicating with the opening 40. A top plate 42 is welded to the cylindrical sidewall 39 and has an anchoring cable-receiving slot 43 therein communicating with the slot t1 in the sidewall so that the weight 27 may be merely slipped into the coupling element 37 which substantially encompasses the weight 27 to effect a connection between the anchoring cable 22 and the hoist cable 38. The lower end 38a of the hoist cable remains adjacent the lower end of the tower 15 as the car 18 moves upwardly and downwardly on the tower. Although it is not necessary for the proper operation of the car 18, the lower end of the hoist cable 38- may be attached by suitable temporary coupling means to the lower end of the tower in order to prevent this lower end from whipping around in the wind and endangering persons md equipment near by.

The personnel-carrying car 18 comprises a substantially rigid carriage-type structure constructed of rigid steel tubing 4-4 or other suitable frame material and preferably has one of the sides comprising a door 45 carried on suitable hinges 46 and normally maintained in closed condition by a latch 47. Of course the cage-like personnel-carrying car 18 has a suitable floor 48 affixed to the framework 44.

Means are provided for releasably attaching the car 18 to the tower 15 and in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-10, said means comprises a pair of apparatus 49 and 58 respectively disposed adjacent the lower and upper portions of the car 18 and which attach the car to the track 17. The apparatus 49 and 58 are identical in nature and an understanding of one will suflice for an understanding of both. As seen in FIG. 4, the apparatus 50 is mounted on one of the rigid tubular steel frame parts 44a and includes a mounting bracket 51 upon which rollers 52 and 53 are journalled to rotate on axes in a common plane but extending normal to each other and at approximately 45 degrees with respect to the rigid frame part 44a of the car. A second movable bracket 54 is slidably mounted on the frame part 44a and also mounts a pair of rollers 55 and 56 on axes in a common horizontal plane but extending at right angles to each other and at approximately 45 degrees with respect to the frame part 44a. It will be noted that each of the rollers 52, 53, 55 and 56 has a V-groove 57 in the periphery thereof for receiving and rolling along a respective corner of the rectangular track 17 so as to prevent any side-to-side or rotating movement of the car with respect to the track 17.

The movable bracket 54 which encloses the rigid frame part 44a and is slidable therealong is controlled as to position by a linkage mechanism 58 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The linkage 58 includes a pair of elongate bartype links 59 and 60 which are respectively swingably secured to the rigid frame part 44a by means of pivot 61 and to the movable bracket 54 by a pivot 62, and are interconnected to each other by a pivot 63 disposed in closely spaced relation with the pivot 61 and in widely spaced relation with the pivot 62. It will therefore be seen that when the link 59 is lifted up to the dotted position B of FIG. 5, the link 68 and bracket 54 are moved outwardly in the direction of arrow A and conversely, when the link 5? is swung downwardly from dotted position B, the bracket 54 is moved inwardly so as to closely couple the rollers 55 and 56 with the track 17. The bracket 54 is thereby movable sufficiently so as to permit all of the rollers to be disengaged from the track 17, thereby permitting removal of the car 18 from the tower. The links 59 and 60 are provided with aligned apertures 64 through which a locking pin 65 may extend to maintain the links in alignment and thereby lock the car to the track. The pin 65 has a keeper element 66 secured thereto and cooperating with the links 59 and 60 in maintaining the pin 65 in the aperture.

The car 18 is also provided with power-operated means engaging and crawling along the hoist cable 38 in upward and downward directions for moving the car upwardly and downwardly on the tower. In the form shown, such means include an electric motor .67 mounted on a pedestal 44b which is rigidly afiixed to the framework 44 of the car. The motor 67 is of the conventional type commonly used in modern elevators and incorporating a power brake so as to prevent rotation of the output shaft when the motor is stopped. The motor 67 drives a cable-engaging power unit indicated in general by numeral 68 and shown in detail in FIGS. 6 and 7. The power unit 68 includes a frame structure 69 mounted on a rigid mounting plate 70 which is rigidly affixed to the pedestal 44b. The power unit 68 has a pair of rotary shafts 71 and 72 which are suitably mounted in bearings 73 on the side plates 69a and 69b of the frame structure 69 in spaced and. parallel relation with each other. The shafts 71 and 72 have cable winding drums 74 and 75 keyed or otherwise nonrotatably afiixed thereto respectively. The drums 74 and 75 have annular cable-receiving and carrying grooves 76 and 77 respectively in the peripheries thereof. It will be seen that the drum 74 has four annular grooves 76 and that the drum 75 has three annular grooves 77, and it will further be noted that the grooves in each of the drum peripheries are separated by ridge portions. The grooves 76 in the drum 74 are out of alignment with the grooves 77 in the drum 75. Each of the grooves of both drums confronts a ridge portion between a pair of grooves of the opposite drum.

Shafts 71 and 72. have equal sized sprockets 78 and 79 respectively affixed thereon as by keying, and an end-less chain 88 is trained around the sprockets 78 and 79 so as to cause the drums to revolve at identical speeds.

The cable 38 extends downwardly to one of the end grooves 76 of the drum 74 and is then Wrapped around the lower portion of the drum 74 and extends across to the drum 75 and is offset slightly so as to lie in the nearest end groove 77. The cable is then trained around drum 75 and then back into the second groove 76 of drum 74. In a like manner, the cable 38 is Wrapped around the drums 74 and 75 in a plurality of convolutions, and at each of the grooves, the cable is offset slightly in relation to the position of the cable at the adjacent groove of the other drum. In the present form of the power unit 68, the cable 38 makes three complete convolutions around the drums and then extends downwardly from the drum 74 and in the same vertical plane with the upper portion of the cable 38. The cable then extends downwardly through an opening 48a in the floor of the car and is slidable in the opening.

Means are provided for urging and maintaining the cable 38 against the drum 74 at the grooves 76a and 7612, it being understood that the cable extends downwardly through the opening 48a from the groove 76a. In the form shown, such means includes a pair of small rollers 81 spaced from each other and mounted for rotation on parallel axes by a roller carriage 82 which is confined by a bracket housing 83 which is welded on the side plate 69a. A pair of springs 84 bear, at one end, against the bracket plate 83 and extend into recesses 85 of the roller carriage 82 for continuously urging the rollers 81 against the cable and thereby maintaining the cable tight against the drum grooves. It will be noted that the springs 84 are maintained in proper position by bolts 86.

In FIG. 8 is shown an enlarged detail of a portion of the drum 74 and one of the annular grooves 76 therein. It will be noted that the groove 76 has a curved contour to substantially conform to the peripheral shape of the cable 38. It will also be noted that a secondary groove 87 is provided at the bottom of groove 76 in communication therewith for defining annular edges 88 at the bottom of the groove. The cooperative eifect on the cable is to provide additional restraining action on the cable so as to prevent any possible slippage on the cable in its convolutions around the drums.

The motor 67 is supplied with electric power through a cable 89 which is secured to the car and is suspended 6 therefrom. The lower end of the electric cable 89 will be connected to a suitable source of electricity.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the tower l15' comprises a substantially rigid tubular supporting structure 16, similar to the tubular structure 16 shown in FIG. 1. This torm shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. is well adapted for use in situations where the framework F upon which flood lights and the like are carried, need only be positioned at intermediate heights. Under these conditions, the tubular supporting structure '16 will not vary so greatly in diameter from the bottom to the top as was hereinbefore described in connection with the tubular structure 16. The tower 15 also includes a rigid conduit 90 disposed at the inner side of the tubular structure 16 and having an upper end cap 91 which is afiixed as by welding to the inner side of the tubular structure 16' adjacent its upper end. The cap 91 has an aperture 92 slidably receiving the anchor cable 22 therein. The lower end of the rigid conduit 90 is secured by bracket sleeve 93 to the rigid tubular structure 16', and also has a sleeve 94 secured thereto as by set screw 95. The sleeve 94 has a depending frame plate 96 afiixed thereto which mounts a pulley 36 over which the tag line 35 is trained.

A removable stop 97 is applied to the lower end of conduit 90 and is in the form of a removable cap with a set screw 98 removably securing the cap to the conduit 90 and also having a slot 99 extending entirely through the sidewall of the cap and partially across the end wall to r'enrovalbly receive the anchor cable 22 therein. "The anchor cable 22 carries abutment or stop 28' at its lower end and of such size as to be prevented from moving upwardly through the slot in the cap 97, but of such size as to pass treely through the conduit 90' when the cap 97 is removed. The lower end of the anchor cable also has an eyelet 3-4 affixed thereto tor attaching the tag line 35 to the anchor cable. The upper end of anchor cable 22 has a Weight 27 secured thereto which is similarly employed as the weight 27 in the form shown in FIGS. 1-10. The hoist cable 38' has a coupling element 39" similar to the coupling element '39 and removably attachable to the weight 27'. The hoist cable 38' supports the personnel-carrying car 18 which is similar in many respects to the car18 with differences to be noted. The car 18 carries a motor 67' and a cable-engaging power unit 68 identical to the unit 68 and operated by the motor 67. As in the case of car 18, provision is nrade tor the hoist cable 38' to pass downwardly through the floor thereof.

It will be noted that in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 11 and '12 that the personnel-carrying car 118' is guided by rollers 1G0, 101, 102 and 103 which directly engage the exterior surface of the tubular supporting structure 16'. The rollers 100 are disposed in close proximity with the front side of the car 18 and are secured by suitable brackets 104 to the frame .of the car 18'. The rollers 100 and 101 are oriented so that the periph er-ies thereof lie substantially flush against the exterior periphery of the tubular supporting structure 16'.

The rollers 102 and 103 engage the opposite side of the tubular structure 16' and are disposed adjacent the upper portion of the car .18. The rollers 102 and 103 are j ourn a lled on a substantially U-shaped frame or mounting member 105 and are oriented so that the roller peripheries lie substantially flush against the outer surface of the tubular structure 16'. The U-shaped mounting member 105 is swingably secured by a hinge pin 106 to one side of the car 13' and the mounting member 105 is removably secured at its other end to the other side of the car 18' by a releasable securing device which could take a number of forms, but in the form shown, comprises a drop-in and liiftout pin 107 extending through aligned apertures in the mounting member 105 and in brackets 188 which are amxed as by welding to the frame of the car 18'.

As in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-10 the 7 tower carries a sheave 25 at its upper end over which is trained .the anchor cable 22.

In the use and operation of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-10, the car 18 will not ordinarily be attached on the tower 15 when the tower is being used in its conventional fashion for supporting flood lights or some other device. When the tower is in this condition, the tag line 35 will have been removed entirely, and the car 18 will have been removed together with the hoist cable 38 and the anchor cable is held by the stop plate 29' in its normally confined position within the track 17 and the Weight 27 merely hangs free at the upper end of the anchor cable. The door 33 of the housing 31 is locked to prevent tampering with the anchor cable. When it is desired to do some servicing or maintenance of equipment at the top of the tower, the tag line 35 is attached to the anchor cable and the stop plate 29 is removed. As the tag line is allowed to run, the weight 27 will pull the anchor cable and tag line upwardly through the track 17 and subsequently the weight will come to the ground. The car 18 may be wheeled into close proximity with the tower 15 on a twowheeled hand truck or the like and may be placed on the ground adjacent the tower. At this time, the coupling between the anchor cable 22 and hoist cable 38 is effected.

The tag line 35 is then pulled downwardly again to raise the hoist cable into operating position and subsequently, te stop plate 29 is inserted to again restrain movement of the stop 28 and anchor cable upwardly. At this time, the cables are essentially in the position shown in FIG. 1 with the exception that the car 18 may still be sitting on the ground adjacent the tower. The electric cable 89 supplies power for the motor 67 and when the motoroperating switch 67a is operated, the motor is revolved and the cable-winding drums 74 and 75 in the power unit 68 are turned in the direction of arrow a as seen in FIG. 7. As the hoist cable 38 is progressively moved in the direction of arrows a, around the drums and in the grooves, the car 18 will crawl upwardly along the hoist cable 38. As the car initially moves upwardly, the car is merely suspended by the cable 38. The car will be stopped at an elevation of two or three feet so that the bottom of the car clears the housing 31.

The rollers 52, 53, 55 and 56 must then be applied to the track 17 and in order to effect this connection, the lever 59 is swung upwardly to and beyond the dotted position B shown in FIG. so as to slide the bracket 54 and rollers 55 and 56 outwardly. The car is then adjusted in position so that the rollers 52 and 53 properly engage the track'17 as seen in FIG. 4, whereupon the lever 59 is again depressed for moving the rollers 55 and 56 into proper orientation with respect to the track as seen in FIG. 4. A linkage 58 is then locked by insertion of the pin 65. At this time, the car 18 is ready for use in carrying a workman to the top of the tower.

The motor 67 will again be operated so as to again cause the car 18 to crawl upwardly along the cable. It will be understood that as the cable 38 is carried around its several convolutions in the power unit 68 the cable is positively guided half way around each of the drums 74 and 75 in the several grooves and then as the cable moves away from each drum and along a horizontal run, its direction is slightly changed so as to move to the slightly offset groove of the other drum. As the cable continues around the drums it progressively moves from one end of each drum to the other end until the cable passes around the outermost groove of drum 74 and under the rollers .81 which maintain the depending end of the cable in tight engagement with the drum. As the car progressively moves upwardly, the end of the cable 38 which depends from the car 18 becomes longer and this depending end of the cable moves downwardly through the opening 48a in the bottom of the car. When the motor 67 is stopped so as to stop the car, the operation of the automatic brake is started so as to hold the car in the exact position at which it was stopped. The workman is carried to the top of the tower and when he has completed his work they descend the tower again in the car.

The car may be removed from the tower 15 by reversing the procedures set forth in connection with application of the car to the tower. The rollers 55 and 56 are moving away from the track to permit disassembly of the car from the track and then the car is lowered to the ground, whereupon the hoist cable 38 is lowered by allowing the anchor cable 22 and the tag line 35 to move upwardly through the track. Uncoupling between the hoist cable 38 and anchor cable 32 is effected. The anchor cable is then moved downwardly so as to position the weight 27 adjacent the upper end of the tower again. When the stop plate 29 is inserted to hold the anchor cable 22in position, the tag line 35 is removed and the housing 31 is locked again.

Car 18, together with the hoist cable 38 may then be transported to a different tower for carrying the workmen to the top for maintenance and service work.

It will be noted in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-10 that because of the use of the track 17 and the rollers on the car which guide along the track, the orientation of the car 18 remains fixed in relation to the tower or in relation to the vertical. This is so regardless of the difference in diameter of the tower from the bottom to the top. It should further be noted that an additional safety cable It may be carried adjacent the track 17 and anchored at the upper and lower ends of the track. This safety cable 109 may be used by the workmen for attaching safety appliances on their safety belts so as to provide safety protection for the workmen when they leave the car at an elevated position on the tower.

The use and operation of the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is essentially the same as the operation of the form shown in FIGS. 1-10. In this installation, the tag line 35 is inserted into the tubular structure 16' through the manhole 16a. The stop cap 97 is removable to permit movement of the anchor cable 22 upwardly through the conduit when the hoist cable is to be applied. This car 18' is applicable to and removable from the tubular supporting structure 16 by releasing the roller-mounting member from the car 18 at the securing pin 10'] so as to permit swinging of the rollers 102 and 103 away from the car as illustrated in the dotted position C shown in FIG. 12. In this form of the invention, the orientation of the car with respect to the vertical changes slightly as the car moves upwardly and downwardly on the tower. To offset this effect, the brackets 104 and mounting member 105 are adjusted in length so as to normally orient the car in slightly tilted position wherein the top of the car tilts inwardly slightly toward the tower when the car is disposed at the bottom of the tower. Because the tubular support structure 16' reduces in diameter toward the top of the tower, the upper portion of the car 18 will gradually tilt outwardly slightly from the tower at elevated positions. The amount of tilting is actually extremely small in towers of intermediate height and is not objectionable in the least.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts Without departing from the scope of my invention which consists of the matter shown and described herein and set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for carrying personnel up and down a tower, comprising a single cable having an upper end secured in stationary position to the top of the tower and hanging downwardly therearound, a personnel-carrying car having means guiding the car along the tower, a power unit in the car and including a pair of cable Winding drums with parallel axes lying in a common substantially horizontal plane, said drums having outer peripheries in confronting relation with each other and having annular ca ble grooves in said peripheries and also having annular ridges between the grooves, the grooves of one drum confronting the ridges of the other drum whereby the grooves of the drums are in offset relation with respect to each other, the upper and lower ends of the cable extending upwardly and downwardly respectively from spaced first and second grooves of the same drum, the cable being wrapped in convolutions encompassing both drums and lying in adjacent grooves of the drums between said first and second grooves, a pressure roller confronting said second groove and engaging the cable lying therein for holding the cable tightly against the drum adjacent the downwardly extending end of the cable, spring means urging said pressure roller against the cable, and reversible rotary driving means connected with one of the drums for revolving the drum and moving the cable therearound.

2. Apparatus for carrying personnel up and down a tower,

a personnel-carrying car having a top and bottom and also having a forwardly facing side confronting the tower,

means connected with the top of the tower and detach ably suspending the car for movement upwardly and downwardly along the tower,

a car-guiding track adapted for attachment to the tower and having a rear side confronting the forward side of the car and said track also having a front side,

a pair of lower rollers journalled on the car adjacent the bottom thereof and on substantially horizontal axes extending obliquely with respect to each other and converging in a rearward direction, said lower rollers having forwardly facing peripheral surface portions engaging and cradling the rear side of the track,

a pair of upper rollers adjacent the top of the car and having rearwardly facing peripheral surface portions engaging and cradling the front side of the track,

a pair of upper roller mounts journalling said upper rollers on substantially horizontal axes extending obliquely of each other and converging in a forward direction,

means attaching said mounts to the top of the car and including an elongate rigid member afiixed to the car and extending transversely across the forward side of the car, and a slide alfixed to one of the mounts and slidably mounted on said rigid member for moving the mount and roller toward and away from the track,

and releasable apparatus engaging the slide and rigid member in cooperative slide-locking relation and being operable to release the slide and permit movement thereof outwardly from the track.

3. Apparatus for supporting and providing access to equipment which is to be mounted in an elevated position, said apparatus including an upright and substantially rigid supporting structure having an upper end upon which such equipment may be mounted, the upright structure flexing slightly as the upper end thereof sways under influence of wind, a personnel-carrying car, means sup porting the car from the top of the structure and producing movement of the car upwardly and downwardly along the structure, an elongate track extending upwardly along the structure in spaced relation therewith, means guiding the car along the track, the track having a plurality of elongate track sections in end-to-end telescopical- 1y related relation with each other to permit the track to change in length as the tower sways, each of said track sections having a single pivotal mounting securing the track section to said structure and to permit swinging of the track section about a horizontal axis whereby to permit the track to be telescopically extended and retractedwithout being damaged as the tower sways and to provide continuous guiding for the car upwardly along the tower.

4. Apparatus for use with a tag line in detachably mounting a personnel-carrying car adjacent a tower to permit the car to move upwardly and downwardly along the tower, said apparatus comprising a tower including a stationary upright tubular member extending between the top and bottom of the tower, the tubular member having cable-receiving openings at the upper and lower ends thereof, a sheave at the top of the tower with one side of the peripheral surface of the sheave disposed at the exterior of the tower and having the other side of the peripheral surface thereof in aligned relation with the cable-receiving opening in the upper end of the tubular member, an anchor cable normally extending upwardly through said tubular member and through the cable-re ceiving openings at the upper and lower ends thereof, the upper end of the anchor cable being trained over said sheave, the upper terminal end of the anchor cable depending from the sheave at the exterior of the tower, a weighted coupling part aflixed on the depending upper terminal end of the anchor cable, means on the top of the tower providing a mounting journalling said sheave and also defining a stop engageable with said weighted coupling part and preventing movement of said part over the sheave, a second coupling part on the lower end of the anchor cable and being movable upwardly through said tubular member and through the cable-receiving opening in the lower end of said member, said second coupling part being attachable to such a tag line to permit upward movement of the anchor cable through the tubular member and lowering of the weighted coupling part into proximity with the bottom of the tower, interengaging and releasable anchor means on the lower end of the tubular member and on the lower end of the am chor cable to normally hold the anchor cable in stationary position, a hoisting cable at the exterior of the tower and having upper and lower ends, releasable coupling means on the upper end of the hoisting cable and detachably connected with said weighted coupling part, said hoisting cable being adapted for connection to such a personnel-carrying car for supporting the same, whereby to permit lowering of the hoisting cable to the ground to facilitate removal of the hoisting cable and to permit subsequent storing of the anchor cable within the tubular member with only the depending upper terminal end of the anchor cable exposed when the tower is in normal service.

5. The invention set forth in claim 4 wherein said tubular member is disposed at the exterior of the tower and comprises a rigid car-guiding track.

6. The invention set forth in claim 4 wherein the tower has a hollow interior extending from top to bottom and wherein said tubular member is disposed within said tower, said tower having an opening adjacent the bottom thereof providing access to the lower end of the tubular member and to the anchor cable.

7. The invention set forth in claim 4 and including a tag line-guiding sheave disposed below the lower end of the tubular member and in alignment therewith for guiding the tag line upwardly into the tubular member for raising and lowering the anchor cable.

8. Apparatus for use in detachably mounting a personnel carrying car adjacent a tower to permit the car to move upwardly and downwardly along the tower,

said apparatus comprising means defining a tower having a cable guideway extending between the top and bottom of the tower and having openings at the upper and lower ends of the guideway,

a sheave at the top of the tower with one side of the peripheral surface of the sheave disposed at the exterior of the tower and having the other side of the peripheral surface thereof in aligned relation with the cable-receiving opening at the upper end of the guideway,

an anchor cable normally extending upwardly through chor cable being trained over said sheave, and depending from the sheave at the exterior of the tower,

means connected with the lower end of the anchor cable releasably containing and controlling upward movement of the lower end of the anchor cable through the guideway,

means on the upper end of the anchor cable defining a weight and coupling part for drawing the anchor cable over the sheave toward the exterior of the tower and toward the ground when the lower end of the anchor cable is released,

means on the top of the tower providing a mounting jo-urnalling said sheave and also defining a stop limiting movement of the anchor cable over the sheave,

a hoisting cable at the exterior of the tower and having an upper end with releasable coupling means thereon detachably connected with said part, said hoisting cable being adapted for connection to such a personnel carrying car for supporting the same,

whereby to permit lowering of the hoisting cable 20 and permitting subsequent storing of the anchor References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Seulthrop 4 June 28, Robbins Feb. 1, Kottgen Jan. 14, Schlosser et a1 Jan. 6, Hunt July 27, Johnston Aug. 28, Kiesling Jan. 26, Russell Mar. 30, Schuchert Nov. 21, Elliott Oct. 6, Harlan Sept. 4,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 12, 

1. APPARATUS FOR CARRYING PERSONNEL UP AND DOWN A TOWER, COMPRISING A SINGLE CABLE HAVING AN UPPER END SECURED IN STATIONARY POSITION TO THE TOP OF THE TOWER AND HANGING DOWNWARDLY THEREAROUND, A PERSONNEL-CARRYING CAR HAVING MEANS GUIDING THE CAR ALONG THE TOWER, A POWER UNIT IN THE CAR AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF CABLE WINDING DRUMS WITH PARALLEL AXES LYING IN A COMMON SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE, SAID DRUMS HAVING OUTER PERIPHERIES IN CONFRONTING RELATION WITH EACH OTHER AND HAVING ANNULAR CABLE GROOVES IN SAID PERIPHERIES AND ALSO HAVING ANNULAR RIDGES BETWEEN THE GROOVES, THE GROOVES OF ONE DRUM CONFRONTING THE RIDGES OF THE OTHER DRUM WHEREBY THE GROOVES OF THE DRUMS ARE IN OFFSET RELATION WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF THE CABLE EXTENDING UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY REPECTIVELY FROM SPACED FIRST AND SECOND GROOVES OF THE SAME DRUM, THE CABLE BEING WRAPPED IN CONVOLUTIONS ENCOMPASSING BOTH DRUMS AND LYING IN ADJACENT GROOVES OF THE DRUMS BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND GROOVES, A PRESSURE ROLLER CONFRONTING SAID SECOND GROOVE AND ENGAGING THE CABLE LYING THERIN FOR HOLDING THE CABLE TIGHTLY AGAINST THE DRUM ADJACENT THE DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING END OF THE CABLE, SPRING MEANS URGING SAID PRESSURE ROLLER AGAINST THE CABLE, AND REVERSIBLE ROTARY DRIVING MEANS CONNECTED WITH ONE OF THE DRUMS FOR REVOLVING THE DRUM AND MOVING THE CABLE THEREAROUND. 